The present need for reclamation and recycling of many traditional refrigerant gases, such as, for example, the CFC's in particular, is well established and known. Laws increasingly focus on prohibiting the release of many such environmentally damaging gases into the atmosphere. The most common current method of reclaiming refrigerant from inoperable refrigerating units is to extract the refrigerant by a compressor, condense it at high pressure and store it as a liquid. Water and acids can be filtered or removed during the process. The problem with this method is that as the vapor pressure decreases in the space to be evacuated, it rises in the condenser. This means that the compressor must function, at its inlet, like a vacuum pump and, at its outlet, like a compressor. The results are high power consumption and a decided slowing down of the operation toward the end (which means higher labor costs).
Patents related to the present invention are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,707,996 (Vobach); 4,724,679 (Vobach); 4,719,767 (Reid, Jr., et al.); 4,742,687 (Reid, Jr., et al.); 4,742,693 (Reid, Jr., et al.); 4,784,783 (Erickson); and 4,813,342 (Scheider, et al.). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,719,767; 4,742,687; 4,742,693 of Reid, Jr., et al. and 4,784,783 of Erickson all refer to thermally driven heating and cooling cycles unlike the mostly pressure driven process of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,342 of Schneider, et al. refers to compressor seals for cryogenic pumps, again irrelevant to the process of the present invention.
It is, therefore, a feature of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for the capture and storage of volatile gases. A feature of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for the reclamation of refrigerant. Another feature of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for dissolving highly volatile gases into liquid solvents.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for use by service technicians to capture and store refrigerants during repair or prior to the destruction of refrigerators, air conditioners and heat pumps. The process and favored embodiments of the present invention are intended to meet that need and also to return reclaimed refrigerant to sufficient purity that it can be reused.